VA accts transcribed offshore
Posted By: moon1010 on 2008-09-29
In Reply to: No one is charging 15-20cpl anymore. Offshore has taken that away. sm - MTSO
My first editing job was for a company located in Virginia that has since closed and one of their largest accounts was for a network of VA Hospitals. I always wondered if they (the VA) had any clue that the actual transcription was being done in India.
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Please post offshore topics on Offshore Concerns board. (NM)
Thank you.
Goldbird
If you have not transcribed using BOS
guidelines that is probably the problem. See which version they are using and get a copy.
and this is how our records are transcribed =(
x
I have not strictly transcribed in about 10 yrs.sm
I work full-time doing medical transcription but I also have other duties that do not involve transcribing so I don't keep up with lines or anything like that; I get paid by the hour. I have worked 3-4 hours in the evenings for one of the national companies for a little over a month but I can't seem to get my line count up. I've only been able to do around 100 lph. I know it will take longer than it would if I worked 8 hours just transcribing. I would like to quit the other job and just work from home transcribing but I'm afraid if I can't get my line count up I won't be able to maintain my current income. I'm not a blazing fast typist, I probably type 75-80 wpm without any kind of expanders. Any helpful advice or encouragement on whether you guys think at my typing speed it is within reason to think I can make it to 150-200 lph? I've done straight transcription in the past but I never had to keep up with lines. I have 30+ years of experience. I just need to decide whether to keep things the way they are now or take the chance on income by production only. BYW, I transcribe acute care for the national.
Your transcribed report would be your testimony, if anybody, for whatever SM
bizarre reason decided your input would be needed. Why the heck do you think you'd get called to court?
I got charged $75 for a copy of my old MRs, even though I transcribed it!!! n/m
:p
QA Help: Earlier I transcribed a report where
the doctor used a really offensive curse phrase. He was actually quoting what the patient said (ER report). He said place this in quotes. It was a really ugly thing to say (mother F word). Even though it's in quotes as what the patient apparently said, I felt uncomfortable actually transcribing it. And believe me I'm no prude. I've heard it all (and said some of it). However, it just seemed really unprofessional and not appropriate in a medical document. It's not like it was a psych report. In fact, it really had no relevance whatsoever, in my opinion, but I could be wrong I guess. So, I left a blank. But now I'm thinking, was that really not my call? Should I have just transcribed it? What would any of you out there have done? QA? What do you advise in cases like this? It's happened before but never as filthy as this. 
Contact the clients you transcribed for
n/m
It is 10 reports transcribed for free.
The OP states the account goes through transcriptionists. I wonder why? The OP states later on in the thread they go through transcriptionists.
I'm trying to protect Lisa from getting abused from the get-go. All she has to say is "my charge is" and go from there.
Too bad if they were already transcribed. Does that mean Lisa should take the loss? NO. Absolutely not.
Again, read above where the OP states "they can't seem to keep a transcriptionist."
To the OP: Charge them! You won't regret it. If you are an IC, you have every right to charge them.
Plus, look at rockinMT's post. She bent over backwards for an account and what happened? It turns out she was spending more time than it was worth.
These are all my opinions, and I am trying to give my opinion on what the OP should do in regards to reports that she transcribed and should, yes, be paid for since she was not aware ahead of time and especially because it is a new account.
What do I know? Ya know? I mean really? Just looking out for the best interest of the OP, but hey, that's just me.
The reports that are transcribed get scanned into
the EMR record. They do the same thing with the lab slips, x-ray reports, etc. The transcription is still performed in the usual way it has always been done.
I have transcribed from handwritten notes
and it was a nightmare. Sometimes the info was missing and my neck hurt like heck looking down and up, down and up. I charged per page. This dr went from dictating to these 5 page forms that he would fill out when he saw the patient. He scribbled and it was horrible. It wrecked my neck, so I gave it up. I was better off straight transcribing at lower pay than when I had to keep looking up and down from a page and no a stand for the forms didn't help because my eyes kept leaving the monitor, so it was hard to get back in gear only to have to take my eyes back to the handwritten form.
MTs by definition are hired to transcribed - sm
what the doctor dictates. We can't be expected to have to catch their mistakes - they're supposed to catch their own. That's why they're being paid the big bucks and we're note. Years back, we weren't expected to know all this stuff -- the meaning of every word we transcribed, the normal/abnormal lab values, what a particular drug is used for, and I could go on and on, and we were paid better, appreciated more & respected more.
I do agree that we must know how to spell medical words and words of English usage. That's what they get for their 7-8-8.5 cents per line. I do NOT believe that we should have to look up doctor's names, on our time, when the dictator has it right in front of him/her and would take him/her only 2-3 seconds to spell it, thus also avoiding any confusion. But I guess that would be too easy.
I didn't always feel this way. Years back, when I was treated as a professional and compensated accordingly, I performed as such. If I want to flag a doc's mistake, I do it for the PATIENT'S sake (but for the grace of God it could be me or a loved one lying in that hospital bed) - and as a courtesy to the doctor. But they really expect too much for too little.
I swear, I just transcribed Bill Cosby! sm
you know that voice that Bill Cosby does, kinda sounds like he's drunk? Well, this doc I just transcribed sounded like that!!! and it's workers' comp, no less. Just had to vent a little! It's still too early for all this! 
Not an MQ employee but have always transcribed via turnaround pool.
The office manager I worked for set it up so they could bill faster, i.e., ERs in 24 hours or less, op notes, discharge summaries, etc. She said it made for a better cash flow for the hospital. That's probably what MQ is trying to accomplish, maybe per client request.
Well, I just transcribed 1500 lines in 3 hours. sm
I work on the same account every day, same dictators, lots of templated reports I did myself and put them into auto correct. I get up early, start at 7 am and today I was done by 10 am. Cleaning the house now. Also, the line pay is slightly higher than most, so 1500 lines is fine for me today.
On harder days when the account is really behind, I get up and vacuum the house after 3 hours of transcribing then come back for 1 hour. If things are caught up, I stop for the day. If not, I will go back in the evening.
I can't sit for 6-8 hours straight. Making $160 bucks in 3 hours is good for me and enough. Tomorrow is another day!
Use templates and short cuts - that will help! I have whole reports in my auto correct, but you have to listen through and change and correct things as each patient is a different case.
I do have to tell you, I do not get this many lines every day in such short a time. It just happened that today was a good day. 
Hope this helps.
copies of previously transcribed reports
What I always found helped, make copies of reports from the medical record charts. Make a few copies of each doctor and keep them in your desk that way you can refer back to the report when doing the doctor. You will get the hang of it. No hospital wants to go through the money and time hiring someone just to let them go right away. Usually you get about a three to six month probation period.
Guidelines are one thing, but if your client wants it transcribed a certain way, just do it.
p
My grandmother transcribed part time into her mid 70s.
,
I am filling out a job app and they want transcribed words per minute.
Thanks.
I have transcribed for doctors in the past who have dictated...sm
that the patient is heterosexual. I'm not much on what is politically correct or not, I just transcribe what the doctor dictates.
Pull up the whole period for which transcribed...see more inside
Say July 1 was the first day and July 14 was the last day - are you able to do a date-specific count? If so, get that on the screen, hit the "Print Screen" button (above SysRq next to Scroll Lock). Then open a Word document or go to Accessories and get either Word Pad or Notebook. Do a control C, which is the Word command for copy. This will copy the whole screen shot into that new document. Go to "file" on the task bar, do a "Save as" and name it what you want, say 07012008to07142008 or something so you will be able to recognize it. This will now give you a document that you can email to their payroll period with a nice little message something to the tune of "WHAT GIVES" or other equally professional question - just kidding, but now you have proof of what your total lines were and a bargaining tool. If you can only do it 1 day at a time, you can still use the screen shot method, but you will have a lot of documents to email if it comes to that.
Be sure to question them verbally by phone first as that might clear up any confusion. If not, then you can tell them YOUR line count and ask why your figures are so different. Just a thought. Good luck!
Meds are not given based on transcribed reports
Meds in hospitals are not given based on what is in transcribed reports. There are so many errors with transcribed material that everyone expects there to be errors in meds, either because it was dictated incorrectly or transcribed incorrectly.
Physicians write orders for drugs, treatments, tests, and procedures. They're in a different part of the record entirely. They're either handwritten or they are in electronic form.
That's not saying there are no medication administration errors, but just saying the likelihood of an error stemming from a transcribed report are almost nil.
"For 30 years, I've transcribed things by what is..SM
correct." This is where the problem is. Do you know that some of the most stubborn, difficult, argumentative, inflexible MTs I have ever met in the course of my career are the ones who parrot that particular sentence?
What was done or has been done for 30 years is not necessarily the correct way now. Language has changed. With the advent of VR, the way we transcribe is now more of a verbatim way than ever.
These 30-year MTs are still adding 's on to Down syndrome, still typing out the word "centimeter" even though it is no longer accepted as anything but line-padding....get my drift?
We're paying 9 cpl and everything transcribed plus spaces is paid for.
/
Depends. Did you just study or have you actually transcribed lots of tapes as sm
part of your training? If you can't put down on your resume that your home study included multiple tapes in many specialties, etc. you are going to be hard pressed to find a good job.
On the other hand, you might be able to type some orthopedics or pt notes (and then at least have some experience to put on your resume.) Orthopedic doctors have TONS of dictation. Besides their clinic notes, etc, most of them do IME (independent medical evaluations) which are fairly easy to do. You'll need some good ortho books to get you started, but most will let you start without the experience if you can demonstrate you know the terminology. Good luck. Get some experience and the doors will start opening REALLY fast for you. Sometimes, taking a low paying job is okay in the beginning just to get the experience. If you can possibly get in a PCP's office to help out with clinic notes (even offering to to backlog/vacation stuff, you will get good experience and your resume will look great for the future stuff that comes up. Good Luck to You. Hang in there and learn everything you can.
Let the docs use their reports transcribed in India as a defense! LOL
The doc can sit there while the personal injury lawyer shows the jury a grieving family and the messed up report.
US MTs should not accept sweat shop wages or conditions. We are providing a service to them! We are their first defense!:) :) :)
If US MTs stoped working for low wages, the physicians who value patient safety and their livelihood would pay a descent wage. The other ones can try to explain the report being done in India to the personal injury lawyer tearing him apart.
IMO, you violated a patient's confidentiality by even posting about this - that you transcribed t
I know you didn't give any personal info, but even mentioning this in a public forum on the "world wide web" - I don't know, I would consider that a violation of medical record confidentiality. I know some may post a sentence or a blooper or something, but this is probably something I would have kept to myself... I am sure you thought what an interesting coincidence when you show the show, but my opinion is you should have kept it to yourself, and if I was the transcription supervisor at your hospital and I found out you had posted on this.... well I would think that would be reason for discipline. No offense meant, just my opinion.
Here is my understanding of conversions of time dictated to transcribed
I was told once that the ratio of dictated to transcribed minutes was approximately 1:4 for an average MT for average dictation. So, if you've been given 300 minutes of dictation it might take you 1200 minutes to finish it, divided by 60 minutes equals about 20 hours. Obviously this is just an estimate and could very depending on a lot of factors, but this might give you some idea.
Another conversion I've heard is that one 65-character line equals 6 seconds of audio and so 1 minute of audio equals 10 lines. So, if you are charging by 65-character line, you may be looking at 3000 lines or so, which when using the above formula would have you typing at about 150 lines per hour for 20 hours, giving you about 3000 lines.
Sounds like this is very doable, typing for 7-8 hours per day if you have until the end of Wednesday. If it has to be back by Wednesday morning, you will have to work 10+ hours per day on it today and tomorrow.
;)
Christine
Thank you for response. :( I figured it was nearly impossible for transcribed lines.
I think my co. wants me to quit...
You have to have your own accts SM
and you definitely cannot be only getting 7 cpl. I have always been an employee of nationals and in-house hospital, have never ever reached $40,000, more like 36, and I have 15 years' exp.
They don't remove eyes based on transcribed medical reports. SM
Hate to burst your bubble - we're important, but not that important.
I take great pride in doing great work and doing a bunch of it.
Flooding accts-MQ
I agree totally with what you said, I have an account that is going nuts because of the new MT's that the Amherst office threw in there and now the hospital is doing a lot of their own work but the only people that get hurt by this are the experience MT's that have had the misfortune of being transfered to Amherst. But yet the hiring continues and we are still running out of work. Hopefully there are not too many more offices that they will be closing, we do not need any more MT's sent to Amherst. I hope the statement about the Ohio office closing is not true and if it is, that they are not being transferred to Amherst, not to be mean, but we do not have enough work as it is and any of the accounts that are at the Foxboro office will be going up on DQS soon, which will add accounts but will also add more MT's. Even the accounts that are in Foxboro that are on MTs have all been flooded and those MT's are in the same situation, no work. I just don't understand why these 2 offices are run like they are--I know other MT's from other offices that always have work andcan make their lines every pay period and they are only in one account. Again and again as it has been stated here, why are all the offices not run the same???
Are they losing accts? Do
The work has dried up. Again I won't make a full paycheck. Others are saying the same thing. I think you may be right. Especially if you are an employee. But wasn't that their plan from the start?
I can't imagine what this package is they are sending out.
Unless they are going to offer to provide equipment, sufficient work/or a plan to give me lines (like on-call pay) for sitting with nothing to do IN WRITING, and a raise of 5 cents a line, the package will probably go in the round file right here beside me.
So is it just DQS accts that are out of Amherst?
Wondering. Trying to piece things together here.
You have new accts--give them to the NE
I was told not to ask for any other accts, we have to do with what we have for now---that the work is low nationwide for MQ--and here you are telling me that you are getting new accts
Again is this MQ lies--if you have new accts and work--send it to the NE--we need it
no, but try to get more local accts....sm
makes one a whole less dependent than the companies using DQscribe (but again I do like the DQScribe program but would NEVER choose it for my private local accounts). My local accounts still like the personal touch, still dictating into dictaphones, and they just like it this way.....they are not all that interested in getting more techy and they are all 35-48 in age............
Get your own accts. When approach Dr with
x
I live in VA and accts
that we were able to get didn't want to pay as much as I make now. Sounds like you've got a good thing going for you. I may start looking into this again as it's been a couple of years now since we did this.
Thanks for all the great info!
Anyone know the process for getting accts...
directly from Nuance (Dictaphone) to work on that are set up on their Enterprise system?
Have asked to be taken off 3 accts cause cant
x
I make between $14 and $20 but good accts. sm
Been at it for almost 20 years too. Lots of templates, shortcuts, etc. Depends on who I'm transcribing. With some ESLs I would only make about $7 an hour if I had to do them all day. My average is right around $17. With some of my local work (on tapes) my templates are so huge, and I'm so used to what they are going to say, I've made $23. But that's onlywith certain dictators. It all varies and some dictators are sooooooo bad, you just lose money.
For example, if I had the $23 dollar an hour guy from my local and then did the $7 ESL from my national and combined 8 hours of work for both, I'm down to $15 an hour. If I get stupid dicators all day from both sides, sometimes I can only average $12. I guess it's the luck of the draw, if you know what I mean.
yes, i have asked to be switched to other accts
and they have accommodated me. With a previous office, they drug their feet awhile (needing to get other coverage)...but yes, ask!
I started with a second company once that also used DQS. Their tech support was able to give me instructions to retrieve all my shortcuts from my main job and put them into my files with company-B. No problem.
98-99% of the time my offices have worked with me very well -- don't hesitate to communicate your frustrations/needs and see if they won't work with you. Good luck.
Same here. Very low on work with multiple accts. nm
.
Need to add, old job I have own accts, new job will be working from pool. nm
:+
for 6 yrs and work is very light on 3 accts....nm
x
to patti and texan, how many accts? sm
I had several accts. which were tape accts. Now I have to go digital, so how do you do it? Do you work for nationals or do you do your own digital setup? Not trying to compete, just a lowly little Transcriptionist trying to simplify my life. At a point in my life where I have to slow down but don't want to, at least I want to make a decent living, not afraid of hard work, just told to cut down, having health problems thanks to "killing myself." Hope it doesn't happen to you, comes on all at once, too many hours at the keyboard, everything starts to "go" at once, lots of pain.
Too many accounts. Would be nice to just have 3 accts. nm
5
WEBMEDX Rad accts-anyone know platform..
is it all internet based or do you have to have a phone line, C-Phone, etc? Very interested in applying but work now strictly via internet. Thanks for any input!
I've been thinking of getting my own accts but
I'm worried about not being able to find coverage when I want to take a vacation.
How do you handle this with all the accounts that you have or do you have to take your work with you?
Credit accts pulled
This is not just happening with transcription- it is across the board. Just heard a consumer advocate here in town speaking about that yesterday, not on our end but just general public. The thought of employers is that if you cannot be responsible in your financial life, that your job will be the same. This advocatet was against it. Transcriptionists are not being picked out as a single group, lots more people at same place.
Private Accts - Logistics?
I have been an MT for 8 yrs and have been thinking about getting my own accounts locally. It would be much more efficient to avoid trips to dr's offices for pick-up/delivery, so my main question is what is a good alternate way to do this? I have seen email mentioned, but can the work be transferred securely this way...is it emailed as an attachment so that work is done on another platform that has expanders/shortcuts integrated...what platform/program to use?? What equipment do I need...what equipment does the dr need for dictation...do I provide it or does doc? I have so many questions about the logistics of working this out...detailed info would be greatly appreciated.
What to charge? ....I know this is controversial...was thinking .14 cpl (65 character), 12 font, ? margins. Recommend higher or lower rate? (region=major city in AZ)
Marketing: How to introduce service in marketing material...should I include price in the material or just say something like "reasonable" or "competitive"?
I welcome any input you may have, especially on the issue of specifics how to receive/deliver work, platform/equipment needed.
Thanks
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